american cities of the future american cities of the

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REGIONSAMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE

www.fDiIntelligence.com June/July 2019

NEW YORK CONTINUES TO REIGN AS THE LEADER OF fDi’s AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 RANKING. SAN FRANCISCO RETAINS SECOND PLACE WITH TORONTO RISING TO THIRD. NAOMI DAVIES REPORTS

American Cities of the Future 2019/20Winners

New York has once again outperformed its Americas rivals in fDi’s American Cities of the Future 2019/20 ranking, solidify-

ing its status as an economic powerhouse and the region’s commercial capital. The city was also crowned best major city for Economic Potential, Human Capital and Lifestyle and Connectivity. According to data from greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets, it attracted 836 FDI projects between 2014 and 2018 – more than double the number of its closest competi-tor, Toronto, and held a 10% share of total US FDI. New York also benefits from the highest GDP of all locations analysed.

San Francisco maintains its second posi-tion. The city saw an almost 30% increase in outward FDI between 2014 and 2018. Between

2009 and 2018, more than 60,000 patents were registered, cementing San Francisco’s importance as one of the world’s top cities for innovation.

Toronto rises to third in this year’s ranking, up from fourth in the previous study. It had an 80% increase in FDI in R&D compared with 2017/18. In December 2018, US-based online retail giant Amazon expanded its Toronto tech hub while announcing plans to create 600 new jobs in software development, machine learn-ing, cloud computing, digital advertising and artificial intelligence.

A big jumpMeanwhile, Chicago has notched up the big-gest movement in this year’s top 10, soaring

Skyscraping performance: New York is still top of fDi’s American Cities of the Future

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TOP 10 OVERALL AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20RANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 New York New York US2 San Francisco California US3 Toronto Ontario Canada4 Montréal Quebec Canada5 Houston Texas US6 Chicago Illinois US7 Boston Massachusetts US8 Los Angeles California US9 Palo Alto California US10 Seattle Washington US

TOP 10 OVERALL NORTH AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20RANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 New York New York US2 San Francisco California US3 Toronto Ontario Canada4 Montréal Quebec Canada5 Houston Texas US6 Chicago Illinois US7 Boston Massachusetts US8 Los Angeles California US9 Palo Alto California US10 Seattle Washington US

TOP 10 OVERALL LATIN AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20RANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Mexico City Federal District Mexico2 São Paulo São Paulo Brazil3 Bogotá Capital District Colombia4 Santiago Metropolitan Region Chile5 Monterrey Nuevo León Mexico6 San José San José Costa Rica7 Querétaro Queretaro Mexico8 Silao Guanajuato Mexico9 Tres Ríos Cartago Costa Rica10 Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico

nine places to sixth. The city attracted 49 FDI projects in 2018, its highest such figures since fDi Markets records began in 2003. Most FDI investment between 2014 and 2018 was in sales, marketing and support, business ser-vices and headquarters activities (together accounting for more than three-quarters of Chicago’s inward FDI). Canada-based BMO Financial Group, Italy-based confectioner Fer-rara Candy and Germany-based navigational software company Here are among the compa-nies that decided to establish headquarters in the city in 2018.

Mexico City is named fDi’s Latin American City of the Future, up from third place in 2017/18, and is the only Latin American city fea-tured in our overall Major Cities category.

It fares particularly well in the Economic Potential classification and enjoys the high-est GDP of all the Latin American locations in the study.

Seattle climbs one spot to be named fDi’s Large American City of the Future and tops the corresponding Economic Potential and Busi-ness Friendliness categories. Almost of half of the FDI the city attracted between 2014 and 2018 was in the software and IT services cate-gory, bolstering its claim to be ‘San Francisco North’. Thanks to a thriving talent pool led by homegrown Amazon and Microsoft, the city is evolving into an attractive tech hub. Ireland-based technology services firm Accenture estab-lished an innovation hub in the city in Novem-ber 2018, with plans to create 300 new jobs by the end of 2020.

Mississauga’s mid-sized successMississauga in Ontario, Canada, holds on to its title of fDi’s Mid-Sized American City of the Future and comes first in the division’s Busi-ness Friendliness category. About 60% of the city’s total inward FDI between 2014 and 2018 was derived from the US, followed by Germany (15.9%) and Japan (6.8%).

Cambridge, Massachusetts, tops the Small Cities classification. A noted biotech hub, the city boasts a robust population of start-ups, well-established pharmaceutical companies, incubator sites and research institutions. Almost two-thirds of inward FDI between 2014 and 2018 was in the biotech and pharmaceuti-cals sectors. Cambridge also benefits from a large network of scientists due to the area’s many universities, which include Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A new addition to this year’s ranking is Palo Alto in California. The city comes first in the Micro City classification and 10th in the overall ranking. It also tops the Micro Cities Economic Potential category. Located in the heart of the Silicon Valley, Palo Alto made a record 58 outward FDI investments in 2018, almost 60% of which were in the software and IT services sector. Many prominent businesses reside in the city’s renowned Stanford Research Park, including Hewlett-Packard and Tesla. ■

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TOP 10 MAJOR AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –OVERALLRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 New York New York US2 San Francisco California US3 Toronto Ontario Canada4 Montréal Quebec Canada5 Houston Texas US6 Chicago Illinois US7 Boston Massachusetts US8 Los Angeles California US9 Mexico City Federal District Mexico10 Miami Florida US

TOP 10 MAJOR AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –ECONOMIC POTENTIALRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 New York New York US2 San Francisco California US3 Toronto Ontario Canada4 Montréal Quebec Canada5 Mexico City Federal District Mexico6 Los Angeles California US7 Boston Massachusetts US8 São Paulo São Paulo Brazil9 Houston Texas US10 Chicago Illinois US

TOP 10 MAJOR AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –HUMAN CAPITAL AND LIFESTYLERANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 New York New York US2 Chicago Illinois US3 Boston Massachusetts US4 Montréal Quebec Canada5 Atlanta Georgia US6 Puebla Puebla Mexico7 Houston Texas US8 Los Angeles California US9 Austin Texas US10 San Diego California US

TOP 10 MAJOR AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –COST EFFECTIVENESSRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Guatemala City Guatemala Guatemala2 Panamá City Panama Panama3 Guayaquil Guayas Ecuador4 Quito Pichincha Ecuador5 San Pedro Sula Cortés Honduras6 Santiago Metropolitan Region Chile7 Lima Lima Peru8 Fortaleza Ceará Brazil9 Columbus Ohio US10 San Antonio Texas US

MAJOR AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE“We’re honoured to be recognised at the top of fDi’s rankings and are excited to further our successful efforts in bolstering economic growth opportunities of today, while supporting the emerging sectors of tomorrow” James Patchett, president and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation

“Greater Montréal’s attraction strategy focuses on promoting our leading-edge sectors boasting a critical mass of highly skilled talent, a high concentration of global players, a booming start-up community and specialised R&D centres”Valérie Plante, mayor of Montréal

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TOP 10 MAJOR AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –CONNECTIVITYRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 New York New York US2 San Francisco California US3 Miami Florida US4 Los Angeles California US5 Boston Massachusetts US6 Houston Texas US7 Toronto Ontario Canada8 Philadelphia Pennsylvania US9 Washington, DC Washington, DC US10 Chicago Illinois US

TOP 10 LARGE AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –ECONOMIC POTENTIALRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Seattle Washington US2 San Jose California US3 Vancouver British Columbia Canada4 Querétaro Querétaro Mexico5 San Luis Potosi San Luis Potosi Mexico6 Ciudad Juárez Chihuahua Mexico7 Aguascalientes Aguascalientes Mexico8 Portland Oregon US9 Denver Colorado US10 Mexicali Baja California Mexico

TOP 10 LARGE AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –OVERALLRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Seattle Washington US2 Vancouver British Columbia Canada3 San Jose California US4 Orlando Florida US5 Querétaro Querétaro Mexico6 Cincinnati Ohio US7 Portland Oregon US8 St Louis Missouri US9 Nashville Tennessee US10 Denver Colorado US

LARGE AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE

TOP 10 MAJOR AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –BUSINESS FRIENDLINESSRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Houston Texas US2 New York New York US3 Toronto Ontario Canada4 Montréal Quebec Canada5 San Francisco California US6 Dallas Texas US7 Chicago Illinois US8 Austin Texas US9 Atlanta Georgia US10 Mexico City Federal District Mexico

“These results clearly indicate that our economic development efforts are paying great dividends and we are focused on welcoming even more foreign direct investment to Hamilton”Fred Eisenberger, mayor, Hamilton

“Philadelphia’s momentum continues to build year after year, and this recognition proves that we have the assets needed for companies to thrive”Jim Kenney, mayor of Philadelphia

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June/July 2019 www.fDiIntelligence.com

TOP 10 LARGE AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –HUMAN CAPITAL AND LIFESTYLERANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 St Louis Missouri US2 Minneapolis Minnesota US3 Portland Oregon US4 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania US5 Orlando Florida US6 Edmonton Alberta Canada7 Denver Colorado US8 Seattle Washington US9 Cincinnati Ohio US10 Tampa Florida US

TOP 10 LARGE AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –COST EFFECTIVENESSRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Asunción Gran Asunción Paraguay2 La Paz La Paz Bolivia3 Sorocaba São Paulo Brazil4 Guaralhos São Paulo Brazil5 Ribeirão Preto São Paulo Brazil6 Managua Managua Nicaragua7 Aguascalientes Aguascalientes Mexico8 Léon Guanajuato Mexico9 Mexicali Baja California Mexico10 Ciudad Juárez Chihuahua Mexico

“Increasing global connections for Nashville companies has been part of the city’s economic development strategy for decades. It’s an honour to be recognised by fDi for our work on this priority”David Briley, mayor of Nashville

TOP 10 LARGE AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –BUSINESS FRIENDLINESSRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Seattle Washington US2 Cincinnati Ohio US3 Las Vegas Nevada US4 Vancouver British Columbia Canada5 Louisville Kentucky US6 Orlando Florida US7 Denver Colorado US8 St Louis Missouri US9 Portland Oregon US10 Edmonton Alberta Canada

TOP 10 LARGE AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –CONNECTIVITYRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 San Jose California US2 Seattle Washington US3 Vancouver British Columbia Canada4 Orlando Florida US5 Tampa Florida US6 Sacramento California US7 Baltimore Maryland US8 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania US9 Jacksonville Florida US10 San Juan Puerto Rico US

“It’s an honour to be recognised as one of fDi’s American Cities of the Future for our connectivity and human capital and lifestyle. It’s an exciting time in Tampa”Jane Castor, mayor of Tampa

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TOP 10 MID-SIZED AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –ECONOMIC POTENTIALRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Chihuahua Chihuahua Mexico2 San José San José Costa Rica3 Raleigh North Carolina US4 Mississauga Ontario Canada5 Richmond Virginia US6 Celaya Guanajuato Mexico7 Irapuato Guanajuato Mexico8 Québec Québec Canada9 Saltillo Coahuila Mexico10 Apodaca Nuevo Léon Mexico

TOP 10 MID-SIZED AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –HUMAN CAPITAL AND LIFESTYLERANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 San José San José Costa Rica2 Salt Lake City Utah US3 Richmond Virginia US4 Halifax Nova Scotia Canada5 Raleigh North Carolina US6 Québec Québec Canada7 Buffalo New York US8 London Ontario Canada9 Birmingham Alabama US10 Tucson Arizona US

TOP 10 MID-SIZED AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –OVERALLRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Mississauga Ontario Canada2 San José San José Costa Rica3 Raleigh North Carolina US4 Salt Lake City Utah US5 Québec Québec Canada6 Hamilton Ontario Canada7 Richmond Virginia US8 Brampton Ontario Canada9 Birmingham Alabama US10 Surrey British Columbia Canada

MID-SIZED AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE

TOP 10 MID-SIZED AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –COST EFFECTIVENESSRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 San José San José Costa Rica2 San Salvador San Salvador El Salvador3 Jundiaí São Paulo Brazil4 São José dos Campos São Paulo Brazil5 Cancún Quintana Roo Mexico6 Irapuato Guanajuato Mexico7 Celaya Guanajuato Mexico8 Reynosa Tamaulipas Mexico9 Chihuahua Chihuahua Mexico10 Saltillo Coahuila Mexico

“A growing number of diverse and international companies have found a welcoming and profitable home in Spartanburg County, renowned for its unique partnerships between industry, community and workforce”Allen Smith, president and CEO, Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce

“With shovel-ready land and advanced infrastructure, London has proven to be the ideal place for business in the region” Kapil Lakhotia, president and CEO of the London Economic Development Corporation

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TOP 10 SMALL AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –ECONOMIC POTENTIALRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Sunnyvale California US2 Santa Clara California US3 Cambridge Massachusetts US4 Bellevue Washington US5 Fremont California US6 Charleston South Carolina US7 San Mateo California US8 Cary North Carolina US9 Irvine California US10 Plano Texas US

SMALL AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURETOP 10 SMALL AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –OVERALLRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Cambridge Massachusetts US2 Santa Clara California US3 Sunnyvale California US4 Bellevue Washington US5 Irvine California US6 Charleston South Carolina US7 Fort Lauderdale Florida US8 Plano Texas US9 Fremont California US10 San Mateo California US

“It’s clear – Mississauga is a city in demand. I am absolutely thrilled that our city has been ranked number one by fDi for our commitment to fostering a positive business-friendly environment where companies cannot only grow but thrive”Bonnie Crombie, mayor of Mississauga

“Our active digital and physical infrastructure investments, coupled with our business-friendly environment and vibrant innovation ecosystem, is creating an ideal location for high-technology and Industry 4.0 companies to grow and thrive, while staying connected to global markets” Doug McCallum, mayor of Surrey

TOP 10 MID-SIZED AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –CONNECTIVITYRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Brampton Ontario Canada2 Hamilton Ontario Canada3 Mississauga Ontario Canada4 Surrey British Columbia Canada5 Raleigh North Carolina US6 Salt Lake City Utah US7 Mesa Arizona US8 Québec Québec Canada9 Albuquerque New Mexico US10 Birmingham Alabama US

TOP 10 MID-SIZED AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –BUSINESS FRIENDLINESSRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Mississauga Ontario Canada2 Raleigh North Carolina US3 Richmond Virginia US4 Birmingham Alabama US5 Québec Québec Canada6 Salt Lake City Utah US7 Hamilton Ontario Canada8 London Ontario Canada9 Albuquerque New Mexico US10 Brampton Ontario Canada

TOP 10 SMALL AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –HUMAN CAPITAL AND LIFESTYLERANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Columbia South Carolina US2 Cambridge Massachusetts US3 St John New Brunswick Canada4 Boulder Colorado US5 Irvine California US6 Ann Arbor Michigan US7 Charleston South Carolina US8 Fort Lauderdale Florida US9 Cambridge Ontario Canada10 Durham North Carolina US

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TOP 10 SMALL AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –CONNECTIVITYRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 San Mateo California US2 Stamford Connecticut US3 Fremont California US4 Fort Lauderdale Florida US5 Santa Clara California US6 Sunnyvale California US7 Pasadena Texas US8 Cambridge Massachusetts US9 Irvine California US10 Richmond British Columbia Canada

TOP 10 SMALL AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –BUSINESS FRIENDLINESSRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Plano Texas US2 Reno Nevada US3 Irving Texas US4 Pasadena Texas US5 Bellevue Washington US6 Akron Ohio US7 Cambridge Ontario Canada8 Charleston South Carolina US9 Cary North Carolina US10 Kitchener Ontario Canada

“While our logistics and infrastructure are unparalleled, our team-oriented approach and business-friendly policies are even more impressive. I invite everyone to see why more than 50 international businesses representing 19 counties are thriving here”Bill Sisson, president, Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce

“Our consistent ranking by fDi as one of the top places in the US for FDI cements our region’s commitment for even more successful international expansions to the region” Leslie Haley, vice-chair of the Greater Richmond Partnership

TOP 10 MICRO AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –OVERALLRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Palo Alto California US2 Mountain View California US3 Plymouth Michigan US4 Menlo Park California US5 Auburn Hills Michigan US6 Redwood California US7 Lake Mary Florida US8 Norcross Georgia US9 Duncan South Carolina US10 Waltham Massachusetts US

MICRO AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE

TOP 10 SMALL AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –COST EFFECTIVENESSRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Alajuela Alajuela Costa Rica2 Heredia Heredia Costa Rica3 Cartago Cartago Costa Rica4 Akron Ohio US5 Ensenada Baja California Mexico6 High Point North Carolina US7 Spartanburg South Carolina US8 Ciudad Acuña Coahuila Mexico9 Reno Nevada US10 Fort Wayne Indiana US


TOP 10 MICRO AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –ECONOMIC POTENTIALRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Wilmington Delaware US2 Mountain View California US3 Menlo Park California US4 Plymouth Michigan US5 Auburn Hills Michigan US6 Silao Guanajuato Mexico7 Redwood California US8 Duncan South Carolina US9 Franklin Kentucky US10 Norcross Georgia US


“Business incentives, an educated and young workforce, a low-risk location with 310 days of sunshine, a strong creative economy mixed with a rich and diverse culture, low cost of living, and excellent quality of life makes Albuquerque one of America’s best cities for business – that’s something to be proud of” Tim Keller, mayor of Albuquerque

TOP 10 MICRO AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –HUMAN CAPITAL AND LIFESTYLERANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Waltham Massachusetts US2 Greenville South Carolina US3 San Miguel de Allende Guanajuato Mexico4 Lake Mary Florida US5 Doral Florida US6 Guanajuato Guanajuato Mexico7 Novi Michigan US8 Bowling Green Kentucky US9 Norcross Georgia US10 Greer South Carolina USTOP 10 MICRO AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –COST EFFECTIVENESSRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Belen Heredia Costa Rica2 Tres Ríos Cartago Costa Rica3 Escazu San José Costa Rica4 Longview Texas US5 Greenville South Carolina US6 Silao Guanajuato Mexico7 Apaseo el Grande Guanajuato Mexico8 Guanajuato Guanajuato Mexico9 San Miguel de Allende Guanajuato Mexico10 Bowling Green Kentucky USTOP 10 MICRO AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –CONNECTIVITYRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Wilmington Delaware US2 Redwood California US3 Mountain View California US4 Palo Alto California US5 Menlo Park California US6 Doral Florida US7 Santa Monica California US8 Waltham Massachusetts US9 Beverly Hills California US10 Woburn Massachusetts USTOP 10 MICRO AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –BUSINESS FRIENDLINESSRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 Dublin Ohio US2 Troy Michigan US3 Longview Texas US4 Auburn Hills Michigan US5 Lake Mary Florida US6 Duncan South Carolina US7 Plymouth Michigan US8 Norcross Georgia US9 Alpharetta Georgia US10 Greenville South Carolina US



NEW YORKOverall winnerNew York is the overall winner in this year’s American Cities of the Future FDI Strategy category. The city’s investment promotion body, New York City Economic Develop-ment Corporation (NYCEDC), employs a team of 525 staff and works tirelessly to promote entrepre-neurship and economic diversifica-tion across the city.

The organisation established the partnership team, a new department to target FDI, in late 2017. Among its many responsibilities, the team con-ducts outreach in growth cities, develops strategic financing and facilitates international participa-tion in NYCEDC’s numerous industry initiatives. These include LifeSciNYC, a 10-year, $500m initiative to bring New York to the forefront of the global life sciences industry; and CyberNYC, a $100m scheme to grow the local cybersecurity sector.

The city enjoys growth across sev-eral sectors including technology, life sciences, financial services and industrial manufacturing. New York’s blockchain ecosystem, for example, is experiencing explosive growth. In the past year alone, New York-based blockchain start-ups received more than $500m in ven-ture capital funding, up 500% from 2017. The city continues to bolster development in the sector through the recently opened NYC Blockchain Centre, the annual Blockchain Week around the Consensus event, and the NYC BigApps Blockchain Challenge.

ChicagoChicago’s economic development organisation, World Business Chi-cago (WBC), has enjoyed greatly increased funding since 2012 in order to pursue domestic and foreign inward investment and inclusive growth. WBC consistently imple-ments new initiatives to attract more investment from various world regions. In July 2018, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel signed the first eco-nomic memorandum of understand-ing between a US city and the Japa-nese government, which bolstered

bilateral ties with the country and coincided with inward investments from several Japanese companies, including construction equipment maker Komatsu and aluminium manufacturer UACJ.

WBC also works to drive growth and opportunity in Chicago’s tech community through the ChicagoN-ext initiative. Its council of technol-ogy leaders aims to promote digital, clean technology and life sciences with a focus on attracting venture capital, tech talent and encouraging inclusive entrepreneurship. The city also hosts the Chicago Venture Sum-mit and its prominent tech hub 1871 was named top university-affiliated incubator in the world by UBI Global in 2018.

MontréalMontréal, third in this year’s rank-ing, is experiencing a surge in inward FDI. Economic development agency Montréal International (MI) sup-ported 63 foreign companies in set-ting up or expanding in the region in 2018, attracting $2.47bn in invest-ment, a 22% increase on 2017 and a 147% increase on 2015.

MI’s FDI strategy targets diverse sectors and geographies and its team focuses on obtaining face-to-face meetings with investors as well as reaching out at major trade shows and government missions. Govern-ment incentives are available to inward investors in the form of tax credits and direct financial support. MI also offers comprehensive after-care support to ensure investors remain and grow in the area: 50% of its FDI investments in 2018 were expansions of foreign subsidiaries.

MedellínMedellín ranks fourth for FDI Strat-egy in the list. The Agency for Coop-eration and Investment of Medellín (ACI Medellín) promotes and facili-tates the attraction of FDI to the city and its metropolitan area, working closely with the different chambers of commerce and the government agency ProColombia.

Investors in the creative indus-tries, as well as infrastructure, con-

struction, tourism, textiles, health services and Industry 4.0, can enjoy industry, commerce and property tax incentives. Moreover, in the city’s free-trade zones, companies benefit from a 20% discount on income tax and no customs taxes. Medellín is also committed to the development of film production in the locality and is Colombia’s only city to have a film commission, offering 15% additional incentives to those offered by the national government.

MobileThe Mobile Area Chamber is the lead economic developer for the city of Mobile and Mobile County in Ala-bama, and it comes fifth in the FDI Strategy category. It is home to sev-eral high-growth sectors including a thriving aerospace cluster, and Mobile Area Chamber attends a vari-ety of global air shows to promote the region alongside Team Mobile, a group of local economic develop-ment partners.

Mobile is also known for its exten-sive transportation infrastructure, including a deep-water port, two major interstate connectors, five class-one railroads and two Federal Aviation Administration-certified air-ports. Following a collaborative, city-wide effort, Mobile won a $14m grant from the US Department of Transpor-tation in mid-2016. The funding will be used to renovate infrastructure, connect citizens to jobs and revitalise historic neighbourhoods. ■

FDI StrategyA MORE DETAILED LOOK AT fDi’s JUDGES’ TOP FIVE AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 FOR FDI STRATEGY. NAOMI DAVIES REPORTS

Success story World Business Chicago has enjoyed a boost in funding since 2012


TOP 25 AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2019/20 –FDI STRATEGYRANK CITY STATE COUNTRY1 New York New York US2 Chicago Illinois US3 Greater Montréal Québec Canada4 Medellín Antioquia Colombia5 Mobile Alabama US6 Calgary Alberta Canada7 Barranquilla Atlántico Colombia8 Nashville Tennessee US9 Québec Québec Canada10 Mississauga Ontario Canada11 Toronto Region Ontario Canada12 Bogotá Bogotá Capital District Colombia13 Philadelphia Pennsylvania US14 Houston Texas US15 Orlando Florida US16 Cali Valle del Cauca Colombia17 Santa Clarita California US18 Hamilton Ontario Canada19 San Salvador San Salvador El Salvador20 Fredericton New Brunswick Canada21 Miami-Dade County Florida US22 São Paulo São Paulo Brazil23 Burlington Ontario Canada24 Cartagena Bolívar Colombia25 Montevideo Montevideo Uruguay

National leader: Montréal is ranked Canada’s top city for FDI Strategy



LIST OF DATAPOINTS

To create a shortlist for fDi’s American Cities of the Future 2019/20, the fDi Intelligence division of the Financial Times collected data using the specialist online tools fDi Markets and fDi Benchmark. In total, 218 locations were analysed for the study. Data was then collected for these 218 locations under five categories: Economic Potential, Business Friend-liness, Human Capital and Lifestyle, Cost Effectiveness and Connectivity. Loca-tions scored up to a maxi-

mum of 10 points for each datapoint, which were weighted by importance to the FDI decision-making process in order to compile both the subcategory rank-ings as well as the overall ‘American Cities of the Future 2019/20’ ranking.

In addition, surveys were collected under a sixth category, FDI Strat-egy. This category is the only qualitative category, and does not feed into the overall result. For this cate-gory, there were 56 submis-sions – locations submitted

details about their strategy for promoting FDI, which was then scored by fDi’s judging panel.

Cities in the study were categorised according to population. Those loca-tions with immediate city populations below 100,000 were categorised as ‘Micro Cities’, of which there were 46. ‘Small’ locations (num-bering 46) had immediate city populations between 100,000 and 350,000. ‘Mid-sized’ locations (of which there were 33) had an immediate city population

of more than 200,000 and a wider larger urban zone (LUZ) of more than 750,000, or an immediate city popu-lation of more than 350,000. There were 42 ‘Large’ locations, with immediate city popula-tions of more than 500,000 and an LUZ population of more than 1 million, or an LUZ of more than 2 million. ‘Major’ locations (51) had an immediate city popula-tion of more than 750,000 and an LUZ of more than 2 million, or an LUZ of more than 4 million people. ■

METHODOLOGY

American Cities of the Future 2019/20

ECONOMIC POTENTIAL• Population• Average annual population growth (% - 2014-2018)• GDP (PPP current $m)• GDP per Capita (PPP current $)• Average annual growth in GDP 2014-2018• Average annual forecasted GDP growth (2019-2023)• Inflation rate• Unemployment rate• Outward FDI (2014-2018)• Outward FDI per 100,000 people (2014-2018)• Inward FDI (2014-2018)• Inward FDI per 100,000 people (2014-2018)• FDI in R&D and DDT (2014-2018)• FDI in advanced manufacturing (2014-2018)• Number of mega projects by capex (over $100m) inc ests (2014-2018)• Number of mega projects by capex (over $100m) per 100,000 people inc ests (2014-2018)• Number of mega projects by jobs (over 1000 jobs) inc ests (2014-2018)• Number of mega projects by jobs (over 1000 jobs) per 100,000 people inc ests (2014-2018)• Capital expenditure on R&D and DDT Projects ($) (2014-2018)• Number of patents 2003-2018• Number of patents per 100,000 people 2003-2018

HUMAN CAPITAL AND LIFESTYLE• Number of students• Number of higher education institutions

• Number of higher education institutions per 100,000 population• Number of top 500 universities 2018• Number of top 500 universities per 100,000 people• Number of business schools in Global MBA rankings 2017• Number of IB schools• Number of IB Schools per 100,000 people• Labour Force as % of population aged 15+• Skillset of graduates• Ease of finding skilled employees• Literacy rate (%)• Tertiary enrollment rate (%)• Third-level students as % of population• Number of physicians per 1000 people• Life expectancy• Education expenditure (% of GNI)• Social Progress Index 2018

COST EFFECTIVENESS• Average annual salary for an unskilled worker ($)• Average annual salary for an semi-skilled worker ($)• Average annual salary for a skilled worker ($)• Annual rent for prime grade A office space ($ per sq m)• Annual rent for prime grade A industrial space ($ per sq m)• Petrol prices ($ per litre)• Electricity ($ per kwH)• 4*/5* hotel in city centre ($ per night)• Minimum wage ($ per hour)• Cost of registering a property (absolute value using GNI)• Cost of construction permits (% of

warehouse value) • Cost of establishing a business (absolute value using GNI)• Cost of establishing an electricity connection (absolute value using GNI)• Total tax rate, % of profit • Corporation tax rate (%)• Common indirect tax/VAT• Country purchasing power parity/exchange rate

CONNECTIVITY• Upload speed (kb/s)• Download speed (kb/s)• Percentage of people using the internet (%)• ICT Development Index• Number of airports within 80km of city• Number of international destinations served• Number of ports (medium) within 100km• Number of ports (large) within 100km• Number of ports (very large) within 100km• Number of ports (medium +) within 100km• Logistics Performance Index 2018• Networked Readiness Index 2018• Environmental Performance Index 2018• Liner shipping connectivity index 2018• Mobile phone subscribers (2017) per 100• Companies in the transportation sector per 100,000 people• Distance to nearest international airport (km)• % increase in mobile phone subscribers• Quality of overall infrastructure

BUSINESS FRIENDLINESS• Total number of companies within advanced manufacturing sector 2019• Total number of companies within hi-tech service sector 2019• Total number of companies within the knowledge-based sector 2019• Proportion of companies within advanced manufacturing sector 2019• Proportion of companies within hi-tech service sector 2019• Proportion of companies within the knowledge based sector 2019• Number of companies within advanced manufacturing sector 2019 (per 100,000 people)• Number of companies within hi-tech service sector 2019 (per 100,000 people)• Number of companies within the knowledge based sector 2019 (per 100,000 people)• Number of jobs created by all inward FDI (2014-2018)• Number of jobs created by all inward FDI per 100,000 people (2014-2018)• Number of expansion/co-location projects (2014-2018)• Top 1000 World Banks 2018• Corporation tax rate (%)• Days taken to start a business• Firing costs• Ease of Doing Business Rank 2017• Index of Economic Freedom 2017• Corruption perception Index 2018• Strength of Investor Protection Index• Credit rating (S&P)• Fragile States Index 2018• Country risk score


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